Cruising may never be the same again.

[Milwaukee Eight]

1 hour ago, coaster said:

The 50 percent reduction in passengers sounds good, but I can't see it happening. Prices would have to at least double and that will not bring revenue back to normal.  Less folks in the casino and less buying overpriced drink packages will eliminate any benefit by doubling fares. Some if it can be offset with reduced staffing and food cost, but I don't see it being profitable.

 

We would gladly pay more for a 1/2 capacity Oasis Class ship. No more jammed pack elevators. I’m guessing, double priced balcony cabins and up will prevent a fair amount of Pinnacles from sailing as frequently as before. Might even get a window seat in the SL and embarkation day lunch in the CK. 
 

In my opinion 

[Iamcruzin]

3 minutes ago, bouhunter said:

I agree.  What's the point of starting a post just to speculate how cruising will be worse.  It probably will be, but who takes pleasure in nitpicking the ways that it could?

If you assume the worse and it doesn't happen then you are a head of the game.  If you continue to think that everything will remain the same and it doesn't when you cruise then watch out for all of the future threads damning the cruise line for not providing an enjoyable experience to its most loyal customers.

[Milwaukee Eight]

25 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

 

It will be people who love to cruise who will be the first to rebook and that is what the cruise lines (all of them) know.

If at the minimum a balcony was required, and increased fares, you believe this?  How many are willing to pay higher fares to manage income sailing with less capacity?  Just how loyal are you?

[Ocean Boy]

12 hours ago, CruiseAwesome said:

 

Doesn't sound like you're all too loyal if hypotheticals make you start abandoning ship.

What does loyalty have to do with anything? If the product no longer suits someone's needs they should just keep buying it?🙄

[billfish]

2 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Agreed but to me, the ships will sail less than full capacity. What the number becomes, remains to be seen. We would gladly pay more for a ship 1/2 capacity or less. More exclusive. 

 

 

The real question .  How much more are you willing to pay ????   Secondly what  is going to go away   At this point nobody knows what the new cruise is going to look like

[Ocean Boy]

12 hours ago, CruiseAwesome said:

 

Oh absolutely, why spend thousands just for a different line to get on the ship. My point is why does anyone react to hypotheticals? Do we REALLY think that cruise ships are going to get rid of buffets? Absolutely not.

What is the point of even discussing hypotheticals other than to see how people might react to them?

[Ourusualbeach]

17 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

If at the minimum a balcony was required, and increased fares, you believe this?  How many are willing to pay higher fares to manage income sailing with less capacity?  Just how loyal are you?

So make all the passengers take nothing but balconies but what about the crew.  If the Virus gets on board it will spread through the crew quarters quicker than through the passengers. 

[ReneeFLL]

12 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I don't think the WJ will be gone at dinner. There will be to much of an uproar. If they get rid of it for dinner then I will definitely find another cruise line since we usually eat there for dinner. Again, this is just speculation and none of us really know what will happen.

 

12 hours ago, CruiseAwesome said:

 

Doesn't sound like you're all too loyal if hypotheticals make you start abandoning ship.

 

12 hours ago, CruiseAwesome said:

 

Oh absolutely, why spend thousands just for a different line to get on the ship. My point is why does anyone react to hypotheticals? Do we REALLY think that cruise ships are going to get rid of buffets? Absolutely not.

If you would have read the first sentence of my post you would know that I also think the buffets aren't going anywhere. Also, why should I be loyal to Royal when they aren't loyal to me?

[Paulette3028]

17 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

If at the minimum a balcony was required, and increased fares, you believe this?  How many are willing to pay higher fares to manage income sailing with less capacity?  Just how loyal are you?

Everything will come down to individual choices at the time someone wants to look at going on a vacation.  Do people actually believe that land vacations will not see a spike in prices?  Foolish to think that.  Packing people into Disney Resorts or anything else will be problematic in the short run. So all the choices people have for a vacation will impact how anyone determines what is 'reasonable' to pay and what are they getting in return. 

[cruise77]

I think cruise lines will get rid of free main dining venues,  and just have specialty dining and buffet.

[ZoeyVictoria]

12 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

So make all the passengers take nothing but balconies but what about the crew.  If the Virus gets on board it will spread through the crew quarters quicker than through the passengers. 

How many crew members could the lowest deck (or two) accommodate?

[Milwaukee Eight]

41 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

So make all the passengers take nothing but balconies but what about the crew.  If the Virus gets on board it will spread through the crew quarters quicker than through the passengers. 

Great point. Sometimes we forget about the crew. If you had 1/2 the passengers, could the ships get by with half ?  Single bunk them??  

[HxFx]

1 hour ago, bouhunter said:

I agree.  What's the point of starting a post just to speculate how cruising will be worse.  It probably will be, but who takes pleasure in nitpicking the ways that it could?

For some of us it is therapeutic to talk about it and gives us something to look forward to (even if that date keeps getting pushed). If speculating is not good for you, why go onto this thread? I don’t mean it disrespectfully, it’s just that everyone has a different way of dealing with life’s bumps and if reading others’ speculations brings you down, then why do it?

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Great point. Sometimes we forget about the crew. If you had 1/2 the passengers, could the ships get by with half ?  Single bunk them??  

Not to mention the crew buffet, bar and other areas.  If people think the passenger to space ratio is small the crew to space ratio is a fraction of that.  People have mentioned that sampler ships are the answer....I don’t agree with that, even though there are less passengers the crew and passenger to space ratios in most cases are worse.  

 

You cant make changes to one without making changes to the other and IMO the larger ships will allow more flexibility to do that. 

[Paulette3028]

17 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Not to mention the crew buffet, bar and other areas.  If people think the passenger to space ratio is small the crew to space ratio is a fraction of that.  People have mentioned that sampler ships are the answer....I don’t agree with that, even though there are less passengers the crew and passenger to space ratios in most cases are worse.  

 

You cant make changes to one without making changes to the other and IMO the larger ships will allow more flexibility to do that. 

We do forget about the space it takes to house and provide all the needed items for the crew.  They need 'space' just like everyone else.

 

[flyguyjake]

I think they will see reduced capacity just from a lack of customers. Who the heck wants to get on a cruise ship! W.H. predicting a second wave in the fall. You WILL see another fiasco on cruise ships with covid. If ports had reopened, surely they will close again. Many TAs will go out of business. Many employees won't return to cruise ships. Many have taken early retirement. How will the supply chain be effected? We don't know yet. Economists say the oil industry will lose 400 drilling companies. Oil prices/production won't return to pre-crisis levels until 2022. And if the 70+ doctors note policy remains, that will keep ships 15-35% reduced capacity just from that one action. The fallout is unpredictable and it's impact will last for years.

[boatseller]

Cruising will be back to 'normal' very quickly because the people who choose to cruise are going to expect just that.  There maybe be less cruising, but the cruise experience will be delivered.

 

I've always like the idea of a non self serve buffet so that's one change I'll be looking forward to.

[bonsai3s]

What about the medical unit?

On our most recent (last December) sailing on the Freedom, there were 2 doctors for the entire ship.

Guessing Royal will hire more doctors?...more nurses?....more equipment?

[Paulette3028]

1 hour ago, flyguyjake said:

I think they will see reduced capacity just from a lack of customers. Who the heck wants to get on a cruise ship! W.H. predicting a second wave in the fall. You WILL see another fiasco on cruise ships with covid. If ports had reopened, surely they will close again. Many TAs will go out of business. Many employees won't return to cruise ships. Many have taken early retirement. How will the supply chain be effected? We don't know yet. Economists say the oil industry will lose 400 drilling companies. Oil prices/production won't return to pre-crisis levels until 2022. And if the 70+ doctors note policy remains, that will keep ships 15-35% reduced capacity just from that one action. The fallout is unpredictable and it's impact will last for years.

The truest word you used was 'unpredictable'.  I remain HOPEFUL to enjoy cruising in the future.

 

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

9 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

What about the medical unit?

On our most recent (last December) sailing on the Freedom, there were 2 doctors for the entire ship.

Guessing Royal will hire more doctors?...more nurses?....more equipment?

 

The CDC No Sail Order makes clear that this part of cruising is going to change. 

As cruisers, most of us realized that "onboard medical services" were ... ah ... underwhelming. Changing this will cost a bunch, but cruise lines (and their passengers) will have to expect higher fares if ships are ever to sail again.

[ReneeFLL]

4 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Logistically it can't happen. The MDRs couldn't handle the passenger load.  They will probably have to modify it in the beginning but it won't go away.

I'm sure it won't happen, but what I'd really like to see is the crew serving the food. 

[ReneeFLL]

4 hours ago, cruise77 said:

I think cruise lines will get rid of free main dining venues,  and just have specialty dining and buffet.

I disagree because there aren't enough people willing to pay for meals and the WJ won't handle all of them. Maybe if they turned the MDR into an additional buffet, but a lot of people won't go for that. If anything I think they would keep the MDR since the food is served by crew.

[ReneeFLL]

4 hours ago, cruise77 said:

I think cruise lines will get rid of free main dining venues,  and just have specialty dining and buffet.

I disagree because there aren't enough people willing to pay for meals and the WJ won't handle all of them. Maybe if they turned the MDR into an additional buffet, but a lot of people won't go for that. If anything I think they would keep the MDR since the food is served by crew.

[ReneeFLL]

1 hour ago, bonsai3s said:

What about the medical unit?

On our most recent (last December) sailing on the Freedom, there were 2 doctors for the entire ship.

Guessing Royal will hire more doctors?...more nurses?....more equipment?

They should turn all the extra cabins that they recently added into a larger medical facility. That is probably wishful thinking.

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, cruise77 said:

I think cruise lines will get rid of free main dining venues,  and just have specialty dining and buffet.

My Magic 8 Ball says, "don't count on it".